Family affair
Involve the whole family. Children will benefit enormously from learning where food comes from, and they may like to have their own little patch. Some of our greatest gardeners started out by sowing a packet of carrot seed on a tiny patch of earth.

Size doesn't matter
You can work on any scale that suits you, not just in a conventional vegetable garden. Grow some delicious cut-and-come again salads in a window box, start a 'square foot' garden on a four-foot square plot or use your flowerbed to grow decorative vegetables and flowers together.

Nature's way
If you garden organically you won't be using sprays that could harm children, pets and wildlife. You'll be working with nature, rather than against it, managing pests and diseases with good husbandry and vigilance. You'll learn how to make compost from garden and kitchen waste, so as well as reducing the waste that goes to landfill sites you'll be producing a useful organic soil improver, which will make your garden more fertile without costing you a penny.

A little effort
Growing your own food doesn't have to be time-consuming or expensive. A few packets of seeds and some basic tools - a spade, fork, hoe, rake, trowel and watering can - will provide you with all you need to fill a plot with vegetables. Second-hand tools can often be both a bargain and a pleasure to use.